Say Forever(46)

"An early wedding present," she says with a wink.

I gasp when I recognize the airline printout. "Tickets to Vegas? Grace, these must have cost a fortune. I can't accept these."

"Too late." She arches back against her seat, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "They're non-refundable. Besides, Violet helped me pay for them."

I'm completely stunned. Vegas. Wow. I've always wanted to go. That was my original dream for my twenty-first birthday. I'd hinted to Jackson more than once, but he said he didn't like to gamble, as if my twenty-first birthday was supposed to be about him.

"So is this for our honeymoon?"

Grace laughs out loud. "Would you listen to yourself? These tickets are for whenever you want. I'm not the one to tell you where to honeymoon."

I shrug half-heartedly. "Everyone's making all the wedding decisions for me, I guess I fell into habit. I've always wanted to go to Vegas, though." I clutch the tickets to my chest and smile. "Thank you. A Vegas honeymoon would be perfect."

"You're welcome. And if the wedding prep gets too out of hand, you can always screw it all and get hitched in Vegas." She tosses up both hands in the air, like she's on a roller coaster at Six Flags.

Oh, right. If only. "Our families would freak."

Grace grasps the edge of the table with her perfectly polished nails and leans forward. "Who cares what they think? Besides, you have your maid-of-honor's blessing. My opinion is the only one that counts." She laughs again, more like the unaffected Grace I know.

Wow. Just the thought of running off to Vegas with Andrés and screwing this whole wedding planning thing makes me giddy inside. The idea is too tempting, but I think again of the horror in my mom's and Tia's eyes when we get back from Vegas and announce we're already married, and that swelling inside my chest quickly deflates.

Luckily, I don't have time to dwell on my disappointment, as the waiter finally shows up with my brownie.

"Omigod," I squeal like an eighth grader who's been asked out by the hottest boy in school. "Have you ever seen a brownie like this?" Grace had warned me it was big, but this thing is monster enough for three people to share, which is exactly why I'm glad I ordered my own. Now I have something to snack on when I get a chocolate craving in the middle of the night.

I immediately stab it with a fork, but quickly realize I'll need a knife to cut through all those layers of fudge sauce and gooey dough.

Grace works faster than me, cutting through her brownie like a logger with a chainsaw. She moans as she takes the first bite. "It's perfection."

"Do me a favor and don't tell Andrés about the brownie," I say with a wink. I finally saw off a chunk and twirl fudge sauce around my fork before sinking my teeth into chocolate bliss. "Mmmm," I groan and don't have the mental facility for much else. All rational thought has completely shut down, and I focus all my brain cells on savoring the rich, chocolaty flavors that explode in my mouth. If I could get an orgasm from food, this would be the brownie to do it. In fact this brownie is so damn delicious, its euphoric flavors are almost enough to make me forget about my problems.

Almost.





Chapter Fourteen



Christina

Grace and I spend the rest of the day bridal shopping. We hit at least ten different shoe stores and I can't find the right pair. I'm probably making this harder than it needs to be. All I need is a pair of white heels, right? I know it sounds crazy, but none of the shoes I try on speak to me, and after a while they all look like the exact same shoe, white satin heels with buckles, and sometimes pearly flowers.

Big whoop.

I'm not interested in the same old bridal shoe. I want something different. That bold voice inside me tells me I should be daring and go for something either red or pink to match the hues of the flowers on my dress, but then that wimpy Christina whom I thought I'd gotten rid of last year rears her timid head and warns me Tia would have a heart attack if I walked down the aisle in red shoes.

We finally give up shoe shopping and go to Hobby Lobby instead. I'm ecstatic when I find flowers that look almost like the Cyclamen on my gown. I've been thinking I want to design my own bouquet. That way I can keep it forever, and now I have the perfect flowers. I also spot these adorable little gossamer butterflies I'm going to sew onto the bottom of the gown once I finish painting in the flowers.

It's late evening when we finally drag our weary butts home. Tonight is my night to cook, which means I've got pizza takeout in Grace's backseat. I ask Grace if she wants to come inside, but she's going to Violet's ranch to patch up things.

Andrés is sitting at the kitchen table, tapping away at his laptop when I stumble through the door, steaming pizza in one hand and a big bag of crafts in the other.